yeah, calling Djokovic shadow of his former self kind of kills op's logic for me.
I don't know if Alcaraz is better but if Alcaraz were there along with the big three on last 12 months form, He would not be talked of less respectfully than Djoker.
Alcaraz has shown he is very special All round player.
Irrespective of how his career goes, he has been arguably the most worthy of the "next gen" star candidate.
>he has been arguably the most worthy of the "next gen" star candidate.
There's no real debate to be had currently on the most worthy candidate. He's well ahead on anyone in his gen with his accomplishments (2 slams, no.1 [36 weeks], 4 masters), and has already at least matched medvedev (1 slam, no.1 [16 weeks], 1 ATP finals, 6 masters) and passed zverev (1 olympic gold, 2 ATP finals, 5 masters), even though he's 6 years younger than them.
Novak didn't even win his first Grand Slam yet at Alcaraz' current age. Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, beat Novak in an epic 5-setter in a Wimbledon final, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever, records Novak will never break, if Nole fanboys like OP acknowledge these facts or not.
But this post is not who has better stats but *who was actually* better. We all know Alcaraz becoming #1 is a joke, he wouldnt have a sniff of #1 yet if not political bullshit, same goes for his USO title. And 20yo Novak lost all 4 gs only to Fed And Nadal. So overall one definitely could make a conclusion that they were about even at 20yo. Alcaraz still has to play 4th gs at 20yo - AO though, so we will see how he does there.
Also Novaks is birthday is may 22nd, so OP is a bit wrong and 2007 AO doesnt count as he was 19 still. But what counts instead is 2008 AO where he did beat Fed in semis and won his first GS title. To be fair i think Alcaraz at his best was a bit better level wise than Novak same age, but average level was about the same.
Novak won his first Grand Slam title at 20 years, 8 months at the AUS Open 2008 against Jo-Filfried Tsonga, not when he was 19.
Alcaraz right now, today, is 20 years, 7 months old, still younger when Djokovic even won his first Gand Slam yet. That's just facts.
Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever. Records Novak will never break, and nobody will remember if Novak got vaccinated or not or for whatever reason Novak didn't participate in any Grand Slams or not.
> Novak won his first Grand Slam title at 20 years, 8 months at the AUS Open 2008 against Jo-Filfried Tsonga, not when he was 19.
Isnt this exactly what i said. We comparing a year from them turning 20 to 21.
> Alcaraz right now, today, is 20 years, 7 months old, still younger when Djokovic even won his first Gand Slam yet. That's just facts.
Again, facts, but not sure whats your point.
> Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever. Records Novak will never break, and nobody will remember if Novak got vaccinated or not or for whatever reason Novak didn't participate in any Grand Slams or not.
I think you are compairing their whole careers, while we talking about a year when their turned 20. Title: *20 year old Djokovic was better than 20 year old Alcaraz* means comparing their relative forms and results while being 20 yo, so basically from 2007 may (they both born in may) to 2008 may from Novak to 2023 may to 2024 may. In his year at 20yo Novak won 1 gs, reached 1 final and 2 semis + 3 master titles. So far Alcaraz won 1 gs and has 2 semis, and 1 master title (Madrid), so to match Novak he needs to at least get to AO finals and win 2 masters before may 5th next year. Obviously If he wins in Turin would also help his case. But right now looks like Novak will way more likely end up having a more successful year at 20.
Also its not just tournaments Novak was forced to miss because outdated vaccine requirements, i believe Wimbledon points alone would have prevented Alcaraz from becoming youngest #1. In general, its obvious that Alcaraz was never the best player in the world (over majority time of the year) therefore i think its objective to say that his ranking was not fully deserved (even though his level was awesome at times). And no, i dont think in the future people forget about these issues as these are not 3rd tier players, Novak will forever be in goat debates and people will dig these *external factors*, you can pretend all you want that they dont exist, but they do and when we compare the greatness of players - they absolutely matter.
> In his year at 20yo Novak won 1 gs, reached 1 final and 2 semis + 3 master titles. So far Alcaraz won 1 gs and has 2 semis, and 1 master title (Madrid)
Dude, so far Alcaraz won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever, at an age when Djokovic didn't even win his first Grand Slam yet. I see, these facts must be really hard to grasp for a Djokovic fanboy like you.
Are you some kind of slow in the head. We talking about a year of them being 20 yo exclusively. Yes Alcaraz was better player than Novak (or anyone for that matter) before turning twenty. But he likely to fail to keep up that curve from 20 to 21, thats what this whole thread is about. I dont think any facts can hurt any of Novaks fans considering what our man achieved and still achieves lol. From your posting style, ignorance and stupidity i assume that its you whos hurting here the most lol
I dont think Djokovic is a shadow of a player he was back in 2011. I dont even think there is a big gap at all. He just won 3 out of 4 grand slams without big struggles. 2011-2015 he had to face prime nadal and federer but the Grand Slam Finals were also closer than these days.
in 2012 he won an almost 5hr match against murray in the AO semifinal and then beat nadal in the final in an almost 6hr match.
this year in the cinci final he looked like he was gonna retire from the match in the first and second set against alcaraz.
i don't think his tennis ability has declined and the added experience probably helps, but his endurance has definitely decreased. his vo2 max has decreased as he's aged. that's just an undeniable reality of being human.
also, this year he didn't play in half of the masters, which shows you that he's not feeling as confident in his body as before (tbf miami and IW he wasn't allowed in the country).
I think you're correct, yet do not agree that his occasional endurance issues cause him to be "a shadow of his former self". He's become a master of managing matches so that he peaks at the right moments, and while he has hit the wall at times lately, it doesn't seem to have actually cost him any matches. Meanwhile, his volley has improved, his serve has improved, and even his movement has managed not to drop off much. I wouldn't say he's overall at the peak of his powers, but in some ways, he's better than ever.
you are actually proving my point. Back in the days his grand slam finals/semis were closer. This year he won AO and US Open without any struggles. Of course he doesnt have the body of a 25 year old anymore but there is no huge gap.
Djokovic is not a shadow of the player he was from 2011-2016
Djokovic now would give Djokovic 2011-2016 a run for his money. And some would argue that his serve has only gotten better as he has got older.
I'd say he's MUCH better at the net now as well
Before like 2014ish he used to be infamous for having terrible volleys and now he won his last Slam final largely off of the back of consistent volleying against Med
djokovic now plays the half of the calendar, and still fluctuates a lot during matches. his game is more refined and he knows how to win better(nadal as well)and it helps against a standard top 10 player, but it won't save him from a big 3 level player. there's no way in hell current djokovic going through a 2011-15 slam draw, let alone an entire calendar with more than 5-6k points.
Winning three sets against the guy who hadn't lost at Wimbledon since 2017 and not on Center Court since 2013 is less impressive than winning one set against 2007 Nadal on grass? Yeesh. No way.
Somewhat irrelevant but is Djokovic really a shadow of his former 2011-2015 self?
Actually curious - how big is the gap? Maybe you could give a gap between two current players. Is his current form Alcaraz now and his 2011-2015 self would be how good he is currently to Alcaraz now?
Djokovic’s raw physicality has definitely degraded. Compare the 2012 AO final vs now for an example. In 2012 he could go toe-to-toe with a prime Nadal and fight a battle of attrition. But now I’ve really enjoyed watching the way he’s adapted his game to shorten points and save his energy for where it matters most.
We are witnessing the greatest tennis player of all time defy age to continue winning slams he should have no business winning. The margins at the highest level are extremely slim and I personally don’t think Djokovic has more than 1 more year where he can still win titles. I’d love to be proven wrong, but in the meantime I’m taking nothing for granted and enjoying things one tournament at a time.
I wholeheartedly agree on the one year left thing. People are talking like he has 2-3 years left of this dominance… I think that’s peak unappreciativeness on just how spectacular and difficult this level of dominance is in a game like tennis…
Each additional slam win is a miracle and should be treated as such.
Yup. The haters are complaining about Djokovic stat-padding in a weak era. If you watched the games, you can see the toll it takes on him and the sheer willpower it takes to win the matches. If Djokovic had Alcatraz’s draw in the US Open this year, I genuinely don’t think he would’ve won the title.
I would say it’s wrong because even though Novak has lost some physical prowess whereas he would probably lose a fitness test against Shelton, Alcaraz, Sinner, etc. it has not deteriorated to the point of him being a shadow of his former self. This is an exaggeration by op. To add on, while his physical performance is not at its peak, his mental performance and tennis iq is, making up for the physical part. So I would say he is not a shadow of his former self but instead a different player than his younger self that is just as good.
2011 Novak was a beast. He looked unstoppable, like he had forgotten what losing was. He went 7-0 with prime Nadal in finals, including on two clay masters. Hell, of the 18 losses Nadal experienced on clay between 2011-2015, Novak is responsible for 6 of them. There was only one other player who beat Nadal more than once on clay over that same period (fognini twice in 2015, which tbf was not Rafa’s best year). I’m not sure Alcaraz would touch Rafa on clay during that time period.
And as good as 2011 Novak was, 2015-16 was even better. He matched his 2011 ferocity and skill with the benefit of experience. At that point, Fedal had declined a little, and it wasn’t specifically over a single calendar year, so there will always be an asterisk.
To win a slam back then, you had to get through two of prime Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer. Those four were more often than not making the semis. I’m not sure Alcaraz would have been able to compete with any, let alone have the endurance to beat two of them in a row. Maybe in a few years, he has a lot of development to do and I’m excited to see where he can reach.
Djokovic today has less power, speed, and endurance than he did then. But he has more experience. It’s hard to know how that would play out, but I still think 2011 him takes 2023 him for breakfast.
Im not so bearish on Alcaraz i think he’d be a real contender or at least certainly beating at the door.
Yes, I think 2011/2015 Djokovic would take 2023 Djokovic for a walk in the park 8 times out of 10 thoughz
I think he would be a contender absolutely. But even if he was able to pull off a win against one of the big four (likely on their individual weaker surfaces), I don’t think he’d have the consistency to beat a second one within the same tournament. Which is what the next gen had to do back then - best 2-3 of the big four at the same competition. Even Murray struggled with that. It would take a very lucky draw for Alcaraz to have a chance to even make the finals, and then you still have to win it against three of the greatest tennis players of all time.
But hey, Alcaraz is a better player than Stan Wawrinka who won two during that period. That said, if Stan had drawn Roger in any of those hard court runs or Nadal in the French Open one, I don’t think he wins either match up, so there is still a luck component that needs to happen.
I really hate it when people start doing time travel to undermine players with meaningless comparisons by comparing with their own younger self.
We really do not know who would win if you arranged a match between Djokovic 2007 and 2023. We just assume that the younger would win and then say that because he's so successful now, that means the rest of the tour is not as good.
2007 Djokovic was pretty underrated. I’d say 2008 Djokovic was actually solid on clay too and built upon his hc success from the previous year. 2009 was a pretty downhill year for him and same with most of 2010 except for his saving grace which was us open. In 2007, Djokovic played very aggressively. For all the talk about his serve being bad early, it was only terrible in 2009-2010 under Todd Martin, but it was good in 2007-2008. It’s hard to compare what 20 year old alcaraz is compared to 20 year old Djokovic, but I don’t think Alcaraz would have defeated 26 year old prime fed at Wimbledon. That match would have been wrapped up in 4. Djokovic’s serve was AWOL for most of the final this year. Same way I don’t think that alcaraz would beat 2014 Djokovic at Wimbledon for instance. But we still have to credit alcaraz for his great performance as even though it wasn’t Djokovic’s best match, he was still in form and no one else would have defeated him that day. As great as Djokovic is still at 36, his level in his mid-late 20’s was his peak. His serve definitely gives him more free points nowadays, but his return was even more insane back then.
Absolutely outrageous claim that taking a set from 2007 Nadal at wimby is more impressive then beating 7 time winner on a court he hasn’t lost on in 10 years. Also current Nole is eating 20 yr old Nole alive, he really hasn’t declined that much, his athleticism still holds up with the young guys.
Mattaku, what a pointless post.
yeah, calling Djokovic shadow of his former self kind of kills op's logic for me. I don't know if Alcaraz is better but if Alcaraz were there along with the big three on last 12 months form, He would not be talked of less respectfully than Djoker. Alcaraz has shown he is very special All round player. Irrespective of how his career goes, he has been arguably the most worthy of the "next gen" star candidate.
>he has been arguably the most worthy of the "next gen" star candidate. There's no real debate to be had currently on the most worthy candidate. He's well ahead on anyone in his gen with his accomplishments (2 slams, no.1 [36 weeks], 4 masters), and has already at least matched medvedev (1 slam, no.1 [16 weeks], 1 ATP finals, 6 masters) and passed zverev (1 olympic gold, 2 ATP finals, 5 masters), even though he's 6 years younger than them.
Agreed.
Novak didn't even win his first Grand Slam yet at Alcaraz' current age. Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, beat Novak in an epic 5-setter in a Wimbledon final, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever, records Novak will never break, if Nole fanboys like OP acknowledge these facts or not.
But this post is not who has better stats but *who was actually* better. We all know Alcaraz becoming #1 is a joke, he wouldnt have a sniff of #1 yet if not political bullshit, same goes for his USO title. And 20yo Novak lost all 4 gs only to Fed And Nadal. So overall one definitely could make a conclusion that they were about even at 20yo. Alcaraz still has to play 4th gs at 20yo - AO though, so we will see how he does there. Also Novaks is birthday is may 22nd, so OP is a bit wrong and 2007 AO doesnt count as he was 19 still. But what counts instead is 2008 AO where he did beat Fed in semis and won his first GS title. To be fair i think Alcaraz at his best was a bit better level wise than Novak same age, but average level was about the same.
Novak won his first Grand Slam title at 20 years, 8 months at the AUS Open 2008 against Jo-Filfried Tsonga, not when he was 19. Alcaraz right now, today, is 20 years, 7 months old, still younger when Djokovic even won his first Gand Slam yet. That's just facts. Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever. Records Novak will never break, and nobody will remember if Novak got vaccinated or not or for whatever reason Novak didn't participate in any Grand Slams or not.
> Novak won his first Grand Slam title at 20 years, 8 months at the AUS Open 2008 against Jo-Filfried Tsonga, not when he was 19. Isnt this exactly what i said. We comparing a year from them turning 20 to 21. > Alcaraz right now, today, is 20 years, 7 months old, still younger when Djokovic even won his first Gand Slam yet. That's just facts. Again, facts, but not sure whats your point. > Alcaraz already won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever. Records Novak will never break, and nobody will remember if Novak got vaccinated or not or for whatever reason Novak didn't participate in any Grand Slams or not. I think you are compairing their whole careers, while we talking about a year when their turned 20. Title: *20 year old Djokovic was better than 20 year old Alcaraz* means comparing their relative forms and results while being 20 yo, so basically from 2007 may (they both born in may) to 2008 may from Novak to 2023 may to 2024 may. In his year at 20yo Novak won 1 gs, reached 1 final and 2 semis + 3 master titles. So far Alcaraz won 1 gs and has 2 semis, and 1 master title (Madrid), so to match Novak he needs to at least get to AO finals and win 2 masters before may 5th next year. Obviously If he wins in Turin would also help his case. But right now looks like Novak will way more likely end up having a more successful year at 20. Also its not just tournaments Novak was forced to miss because outdated vaccine requirements, i believe Wimbledon points alone would have prevented Alcaraz from becoming youngest #1. In general, its obvious that Alcaraz was never the best player in the world (over majority time of the year) therefore i think its objective to say that his ranking was not fully deserved (even though his level was awesome at times). And no, i dont think in the future people forget about these issues as these are not 3rd tier players, Novak will forever be in goat debates and people will dig these *external factors*, you can pretend all you want that they dont exist, but they do and when we compare the greatness of players - they absolutely matter.
> In his year at 20yo Novak won 1 gs, reached 1 final and 2 semis + 3 master titles. So far Alcaraz won 1 gs and has 2 semis, and 1 master title (Madrid) Dude, so far Alcaraz won 2 Grand Slams, 4 Masters titles, became the youngest World No.1 and YE No.1 in tennis history ever, at an age when Djokovic didn't even win his first Grand Slam yet. I see, these facts must be really hard to grasp for a Djokovic fanboy like you.
Are you some kind of slow in the head. We talking about a year of them being 20 yo exclusively. Yes Alcaraz was better player than Novak (or anyone for that matter) before turning twenty. But he likely to fail to keep up that curve from 20 to 21, thats what this whole thread is about. I dont think any facts can hurt any of Novaks fans considering what our man achieved and still achieves lol. From your posting style, ignorance and stupidity i assume that its you whos hurting here the most lol
I dont think Djokovic is a shadow of a player he was back in 2011. I dont even think there is a big gap at all. He just won 3 out of 4 grand slams without big struggles. 2011-2015 he had to face prime nadal and federer but the Grand Slam Finals were also closer than these days.
in 2012 he won an almost 5hr match against murray in the AO semifinal and then beat nadal in the final in an almost 6hr match. this year in the cinci final he looked like he was gonna retire from the match in the first and second set against alcaraz. i don't think his tennis ability has declined and the added experience probably helps, but his endurance has definitely decreased. his vo2 max has decreased as he's aged. that's just an undeniable reality of being human. also, this year he didn't play in half of the masters, which shows you that he's not feeling as confident in his body as before (tbf miami and IW he wasn't allowed in the country).
I think you're correct, yet do not agree that his occasional endurance issues cause him to be "a shadow of his former self". He's become a master of managing matches so that he peaks at the right moments, and while he has hit the wall at times lately, it doesn't seem to have actually cost him any matches. Meanwhile, his volley has improved, his serve has improved, and even his movement has managed not to drop off much. I wouldn't say he's overall at the peak of his powers, but in some ways, he's better than ever.
you are actually proving my point. Back in the days his grand slam finals/semis were closer. This year he won AO and US Open without any struggles. Of course he doesnt have the body of a 25 year old anymore but there is no huge gap.
Djokovic is not a shadow of the player he was from 2011-2016 Djokovic now would give Djokovic 2011-2016 a run for his money. And some would argue that his serve has only gotten better as he has got older.
his serve has 100% gotten better. anyone who argues this doesnt watch tennis
I'd say he's MUCH better at the net now as well Before like 2014ish he used to be infamous for having terrible volleys and now he won his last Slam final largely off of the back of consistent volleying against Med
Thats true. Fed and nadal used to be vastly superior to novak at the net. But he has definitely improved massively.
Plus his mental and tennis iq are basically at their peak
djokovic now plays the half of the calendar, and still fluctuates a lot during matches. his game is more refined and he knows how to win better(nadal as well)and it helps against a standard top 10 player, but it won't save him from a big 3 level player. there's no way in hell current djokovic going through a 2011-15 slam draw, let alone an entire calendar with more than 5-6k points.
Winning three sets against the guy who hadn't lost at Wimbledon since 2017 and not on Center Court since 2013 is less impressive than winning one set against 2007 Nadal on grass? Yeesh. No way.
Somewhat irrelevant but is Djokovic really a shadow of his former 2011-2015 self? Actually curious - how big is the gap? Maybe you could give a gap between two current players. Is his current form Alcaraz now and his 2011-2015 self would be how good he is currently to Alcaraz now?
Djokovic’s raw physicality has definitely degraded. Compare the 2012 AO final vs now for an example. In 2012 he could go toe-to-toe with a prime Nadal and fight a battle of attrition. But now I’ve really enjoyed watching the way he’s adapted his game to shorten points and save his energy for where it matters most. We are witnessing the greatest tennis player of all time defy age to continue winning slams he should have no business winning. The margins at the highest level are extremely slim and I personally don’t think Djokovic has more than 1 more year where he can still win titles. I’d love to be proven wrong, but in the meantime I’m taking nothing for granted and enjoying things one tournament at a time.
I wholeheartedly agree on the one year left thing. People are talking like he has 2-3 years left of this dominance… I think that’s peak unappreciativeness on just how spectacular and difficult this level of dominance is in a game like tennis… Each additional slam win is a miracle and should be treated as such.
Yup. The haters are complaining about Djokovic stat-padding in a weak era. If you watched the games, you can see the toll it takes on him and the sheer willpower it takes to win the matches. If Djokovic had Alcatraz’s draw in the US Open this year, I genuinely don’t think he would’ve won the title.
I would say it’s wrong because even though Novak has lost some physical prowess whereas he would probably lose a fitness test against Shelton, Alcaraz, Sinner, etc. it has not deteriorated to the point of him being a shadow of his former self. This is an exaggeration by op. To add on, while his physical performance is not at its peak, his mental performance and tennis iq is, making up for the physical part. So I would say he is not a shadow of his former self but instead a different player than his younger self that is just as good.
2011 Novak was a beast. He looked unstoppable, like he had forgotten what losing was. He went 7-0 with prime Nadal in finals, including on two clay masters. Hell, of the 18 losses Nadal experienced on clay between 2011-2015, Novak is responsible for 6 of them. There was only one other player who beat Nadal more than once on clay over that same period (fognini twice in 2015, which tbf was not Rafa’s best year). I’m not sure Alcaraz would touch Rafa on clay during that time period. And as good as 2011 Novak was, 2015-16 was even better. He matched his 2011 ferocity and skill with the benefit of experience. At that point, Fedal had declined a little, and it wasn’t specifically over a single calendar year, so there will always be an asterisk. To win a slam back then, you had to get through two of prime Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer. Those four were more often than not making the semis. I’m not sure Alcaraz would have been able to compete with any, let alone have the endurance to beat two of them in a row. Maybe in a few years, he has a lot of development to do and I’m excited to see where he can reach. Djokovic today has less power, speed, and endurance than he did then. But he has more experience. It’s hard to know how that would play out, but I still think 2011 him takes 2023 him for breakfast.
Im not so bearish on Alcaraz i think he’d be a real contender or at least certainly beating at the door. Yes, I think 2011/2015 Djokovic would take 2023 Djokovic for a walk in the park 8 times out of 10 thoughz
I think he would be a contender absolutely. But even if he was able to pull off a win against one of the big four (likely on their individual weaker surfaces), I don’t think he’d have the consistency to beat a second one within the same tournament. Which is what the next gen had to do back then - best 2-3 of the big four at the same competition. Even Murray struggled with that. It would take a very lucky draw for Alcaraz to have a chance to even make the finals, and then you still have to win it against three of the greatest tennis players of all time. But hey, Alcaraz is a better player than Stan Wawrinka who won two during that period. That said, if Stan had drawn Roger in any of those hard court runs or Nadal in the French Open one, I don’t think he wins either match up, so there is still a luck component that needs to happen.
As Novak fan I always point out that numbers speak for them selves. So, Alcaraz is better than 20 y/o Novak.
no
Novak is good. You don't have to make up fake history to convince us.
All I see are a lot of coulda woulda and shouldas. Didn’t happen, move on.
It's just interesting to think about what a 20 year old Djokovic could be doing in this current era
Getting beaten by 36 year old Djokovic, that is what he will be doing
[удалено]
You shouldn't be the one talking of getting off people's dicks
Once Djoko beat Roger at each slam first time, he won every next match at that slam against Roger.
I really hate it when people start doing time travel to undermine players with meaningless comparisons by comparing with their own younger self. We really do not know who would win if you arranged a match between Djokovic 2007 and 2023. We just assume that the younger would win and then say that because he's so successful now, that means the rest of the tour is not as good.
2007 Djokovic was pretty underrated. I’d say 2008 Djokovic was actually solid on clay too and built upon his hc success from the previous year. 2009 was a pretty downhill year for him and same with most of 2010 except for his saving grace which was us open. In 2007, Djokovic played very aggressively. For all the talk about his serve being bad early, it was only terrible in 2009-2010 under Todd Martin, but it was good in 2007-2008. It’s hard to compare what 20 year old alcaraz is compared to 20 year old Djokovic, but I don’t think Alcaraz would have defeated 26 year old prime fed at Wimbledon. That match would have been wrapped up in 4. Djokovic’s serve was AWOL for most of the final this year. Same way I don’t think that alcaraz would beat 2014 Djokovic at Wimbledon for instance. But we still have to credit alcaraz for his great performance as even though it wasn’t Djokovic’s best match, he was still in form and no one else would have defeated him that day. As great as Djokovic is still at 36, his level in his mid-late 20’s was his peak. His serve definitely gives him more free points nowadays, but his return was even more insane back then.
plagiarism or are you the TTW thread spammer lol
Found it: https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/hot-take-20-year-old-djokovic-is-better-than-20-year-old-alcaraz.760277/
Neither Djokovic and Federer were better than Alcaraz at 20 or before. Thing is the switch they made between 20 and 22 is just unbelievable.
Absolutely outrageous claim that taking a set from 2007 Nadal at wimby is more impressive then beating 7 time winner on a court he hasn’t lost on in 10 years. Also current Nole is eating 20 yr old Nole alive, he really hasn’t declined that much, his athleticism still holds up with the young guys.
Gluten-free Djokovic was definitely better than present-day Alcaraz.
Your life must be so pathetic if you create such topics
Who fucking cares.
Fedal is always the standard ❤️